In the last week the hotel has slowed down a lot. Although our multiple activities keep it busier than most hotels, we are no longer at 100%. My general responsibilities have stayed the same: financials, check-ins/outs, ensuring that maintenance and cleaning staff are getting things done, maintaining relationships with on-site businesses, responding to emails, marketing, and hanging out with guests. The benefit of things slowing down a little bit is having more time to be creative. I have more time to write blogs for the hotel, update our Facebook pages (which you should all have already “liked” by now), plan our Jiu Jitsu Tournament in June and a women's only kite surfing clinic in April. 

 More time also means I have the opportunity to do fam tours. Fam tours or familiarization tours are a fantastic bonus for anyone who works in the tourism/hospitality industry. I’d rather be paid less and have the opportunity to do fam tours, than be paid generously and not do fam tours. Besides the fact that they are super fun, they are of extreme value to your job. Once you’ve done a zip line, rafting, snorkeling or atv tour, you know it through and through and can effectively sell it to your customers. It’s like convincing your friend to go to a restaurant that they’ve never been to. If you’ve eaten there, you know exactly how to sell it and close the deal. The way I see it, the better you know the tours, the better you can help plan a trip that meets the needs and desires of your customers. Also, if you’re making commission off of the tours you book, it’s to your benefit to know how to sell the right tours for the right people so that they come back happy and trust you to book more. To be credible as tour guide/agent, you need to stay informed and know the details.

 

It’s beneficial for tour companies to allow people in my position to go on free tours because it gives them a competitive advantage over other companies. Why would I promote tours for another company if I don’t know who they are, what their tours are like and how they’ll treat my guest? By building a relationship with complementary businesses, I know that I’ll get good consistent service and I know my guests will to.

Moral of the story, get a job as a concierge or at a tourist center. You meet people from all over the world, get to do fun FREE tourist activities, and make travelers super happy. Don’t you want to be responsible for making people trip unique and memorable?

 These pictures were taken during a fam tour I did last Sunday, its called the 7 Waterfall Tour and its pretty amazing. We started off the day with an introduction to cock fighting, then we checked out a local art shop, then head up to a coffee plantation and finish off the waterfalls. When doing fam tours, you sometimes get shmoozed with extra treats. This time I got to roll my own cigar, got some free rum,  a discount on gifts from the art store and a free DVD of my adventure.